This is the order that outlasts one night and the next. That outlasts circumstance. What you feel around you, in this cool air, is not what’s passing or what’s past. It’s what’s perpetual. Sea and stone, the steadiness at the core of things, the solid facts of place and ritual. No need to make a fuss. It is enough, if you trust your role in the order, to hold your gaze steady. Sometimes it is enough in this world to be patient, and do your duty, and bide your time.
